The German government’s target of sourcing 80 % of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030 is ‘very much achievable’ for Germany if current positive trends persist, economy minister Robert Habeck stated at a 27 February conference on structural economic change in former coal regions, and reported by online agency Clean Energy Wire.
The minister said that the technical conditions for achieving ambitious renewable power targets are there, but that a successful transformation also requires resolve and societal unity to succeed.
Ongoing protests against climate and energy transformation policies have shifted into greater focus in Germany. Protests by affected groups, such as farmers, have been used as a vehicle by far-right groups including the anti-climate action party AfD, which hopes to benefit from discontent in upcoming elections in the European Union in June, and in three eastern German states later this year. Lusatia, the coal region where the conference took place, is one of the proving grounds for achieving a 'just transition', which in turn could help fend off attempts by far-right groups to make use of the discontent.
Image courtesy of EdWhiteImages / Pixabay
